


Princestealer

by Fee_Verte



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Northern Culture & Customs, Northern Laws, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25746445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fee_Verte/pseuds/Fee_Verte
Summary: When Rhaegar gets the idea to send letters describing their marriage to the whole Realm, Lyanna knows she has to be in the North when the answering letters come.Or: How Rhaegar fell into a bear trap, metaphorically speaking, and how northern marriages work.
Relationships: Lyanna Stark/Rhaegar Targaryen
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	Princestealer

They had been in the South just long enough, that Lyanna Stark knew her moonblood wasn’t late, but that she was pregnant, when word reached them that tensions in the Seven Kingdoms were rising. About her kidnapping of all things, hadn’t her letter reached her father? Well anyway, the messages that war might break out soon inspired her husband to send out ravens carrying the message that they had married, even describing the manner they had married – under a Weirwood tree with the Kingsguard as their only witnesses – in detail.

Lyanna knew then that she had to go back North as soon as possible, it would probably be best if she was quite a bit away when Rhaegar read the answering letters. It was an easy feat to convince him that if her father and brothers heard from her herself that she wasn’t kidnapped it would be even better. He agreed, but wanted to come with her, which was less than ideal, but she would take what she could get. And he sent out the letters to every Great Lord and his father the King.

She was quite lucky when no returning letters reached them, and soon they reached Riverrun, where the Northern contingent for her brother’s wedding, the Northern army really, were. The northern men, and especially the northern women smirked at her as they rode through the camp. Some offered her congratulatory bows. Rhaegar and his Kingsguard seemed lost why nobody was angry at them.

When they reached the Stark tents, her eldest brother Brandon clasped her shoulder, hugged her and whispered: “You actually managed to do it, damn girl.”

Her father had the same look as he did when she managed to make a difficult jump with her horse or slay a wolf or shadowcat with her bow – once he explained her that it meant he wasn’t sure if he should be proud of her feats or berate her for being crazy.

After a short pause he spoke: “If I understood the Prince’s message correctly, you are married in the tradition of bears.”

“Yes, and I am with child already.” She answered him.

“Daughter, you have made a mess of my plans. What southern man would marry you now, be it a true or hehr one.”

“My Lord, your daughter and I are married before the old gods, why would she marry any other man?”

Her father turned his head to look at Rhaegar directly, but he spoke to Lyanna. “You didn’t tell him?”

She shrugged. “He is a prince of the realm, known to be well-read, and the laws of the North have been codified for millennia. Why would I need to explain marriage customs to him?” It wasn’t her problem that the prince didn’t know anything about the differences between northern and southern laws – or marriage customs.

“Well then, my Prince, allow me to explain what my daughter didn’t. You married her before a Weirwood tree, correct?” Rhaegar nodded. “The only witnesses being warriors sworn to your house?” He nodded again. “No Stark was there other than Lyanna. Which means whatever words were spoken that day, in action it was House Targaryen that gave away you to be married to my daughter Lyanna Stark for a year and a day or until a child for House Stark is born. This is one of the seven types of marriage the North acknowledges. It’s most commonly known as a bear marriage, where the only goal is to get a trueborn child for the mother’s house.”

Rhaegar’s mouth was open and he looked quite perplexed.

Behind Lyanna the voice of Maege Mormont rose, who’s children were all known to have been fathered by unknown bears: “To Lyanna Stark the Princestealer.”

Her cry was answered by an unknown number of northern people: “Lyanna Princestealer! Lyanna Princestealer! Lyanna Princestealer!”

* * *

Let it be known that the North knows of seven marriages.

The first one is the true marriage. The bride is brought by her House to the Weirwood tree and marries into the House of her groom witnessed by people of his House. Their children shall be known as trueborn to the groom’s House with two parents known to the Gods. Both bride and groom can’t marry another person as long as the true marriage lasts. Death does not end a true marriage, only the correct ceremony witnessed before the Gods shall do so. Children born to one but not the other partner shall be known as baseborn.

The second one is the hehr marriage. The groom is brought by his House to the Weirwood tree and marries into the House of his bride witnessed by people of her House. Their children shall be known as trueborn to the bride’s House with two parents known to the Gods. Both bride and groom can’t marry another person as long as the hehr marriage lasts. Death does not end a hehr marriage, only the correct ceremony witnessed before the Gods shall do so. Children born to one but not the other partner shall be known as baseborn.

The third one is the lesser marriage. The groom and bride are married only before the so-called New Gods or other Gods not known to the North. The partner not known to the Gods does not become part of the House of their spouse. Their children shall be known as trueborn to the House specified in a contract, in the absence of a contract they are trueborn to the House of the partner known to the gods. The death of one partner ends a lesser marriage.

The fourth one is the common marriage. Bride and groom are married before a Weirwood tree with at least one witness of good standing. The duration of the marriage is to be specified before the Gods, as well as a dominant family if one partner wishes to marry into the family of the other partner. Their children shall be known as trueborn to the dominant family, or the family of better standing, with two parents known to the Gods. Both bride and groom can’t marry another person as long as the common marriage lasts. Death of one partner ends a common marriage. Children born to one partner, but the other partner can be named baseborn or taken into the family of the parent from the family of better standing.

The fifth marriage is the bear marriage. Either the groom is brought by his House to the Weirwood tree and marries his bride with no witnesses by any member of the bride’s House. Or it is specified before the Gods that the marriage shall be a bear marriage. The marriage lasts until a child is born or a year and a day have passed. Their children shall be known as trueborn to the bride’s House.

The sixth marriage is the swan marriage. Either the bride is brought by her House to the Weirwood tree and marries her groom with not witnesses by any member of the groom’s House. Or it is specified before the Gods that the marriage shall be a swan marriage. The marriage lasts until a child is born or a year and a day have passed. Their children shall be known as trueborn to the groom’s House.

The seventh marriage is the mirrored marriage. Two brides or two grooms marrying each other in a true/ hehr or common marriage ceremony. Their children shall be known as trueborn to their union, trueborn to the House or family specified before the Gods, with two parents known to the Gods or three parents known to the Gods if the child is born to a person in a simultaneous mirrored marriage and a bear or swan marriage. Partners in a mirrored marriage can enter a bear or swan marriage, and only those two marriages, with the blessings of the other partner as long as the mirrored marriage lasts. Death of one partner dissolves a mirrored common marriage but not a mirrored true/hehr marriage, only the correct ceremony witnessed before the Gods shall do so.

Children born outside of marriage shall bear the name of the family of better standing or the mother’s family if the sire is unknown. Their mother is the only parent known to the Gods.

Baseborn are those children born to one partner in a true or hehr or, if specified before the Old Gods, common marriage where their living partner is not the other parent. Their mother is the only parent known to the Gods.

**Author's Note:**

> Hehr means noble in German.
> 
> My [Tumblr](https://feeverte.tumblr.com/)


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